SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Skidmore College's Tautvydas Kupstas led all players with 27 points as the Thoroughbreds dealt the Union College men's basketball team a difficult 79-71 Liberty League defeat on Tuesday night at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Kupstas had a big effort for Skidmore (12-7, 8-5 Liberty League), hitting six three-pointers on the way to 27 points. Greg Skoric also caused problems in the paint for the visitors, netting 21 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
Senior Mike Manley scored a team-high 16 points while classmate Chris Lovisolo had another solid effort with 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds and two blocks for Union (9-11, 6-8 Liberty League). Senior Temi George (11 points) and junior Connor Cepiel (10 points) reached double figures as well for the Dutchmen.
 
The teams traded the lead six times during a back-and-forth first half, which saw just one point separate the two squads after 20 minutes. Skidmore led by as many as seven points late in the frame before a Cepiel three started an 8-2 run to end the period, with Lovisolo scoring the final five points to make it a 36-35 game at the break.
 
The Dutchmen continued their run to start the second stanza, scoring 11 of the first 13 points to take their largest lead of the night at 46-38. Union maintained its advantage for the first 10 minutes of the half until a 12-2 run by the Thoroughbreds gave the visitors a 64-59 lead with 5:38 remaining. A Lovisolo three and a jumper by sophomore Edward Baptiste quickly knotted the score at 54, but seven straight from Skidmore put Union in a 71-64 hole with 3:37 on the clock.
 
Senior Brian Noone connected on a jumper to get within five with 3:17 remaining, but the Dutchmen missed eight of their last 10 field-goal attempts, including 6-of-7 from long range. The team finished the evening shooting just 38.7 percent (29 of 75) from the field, compared to 43.7 percent (31 of 71) for Skidmore.
 
Union has a big weekend of games coming up, beginning on Friday with a home matchup against Hobart College beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.